Cable television (TV) has become a widely subscribed to commodity. Cable TV typically comprises a plurality of audio/video (A/V) transmissions accumulated in a central office, for example. The A/V transmissions may be accumulated in a content server, for example.
The content server is an information storage unit adapted to collect, accumulate, package, disseminate, and broadcast multimedia data to clients at various locations remote from the central office.
A common central content server may be located in a central office of a service provider. The content server may comprise a plurality of content servers residing in multiple geographic locations.
Typically, cable TV transmissions (channels) are distributed to end-users over cables, thus cable TV. The channels may be distributed from the content server located at the cable TV service provider's location. The service provider's content server transmits all of the channels simultaneously on a single shared cable to an end-user location.
Multiple clients, end-users, and/or customers subscribe to the services (channels) provided by the content server of the service provider. A television set and a set-top-box (STB) may be located at the end-user's location to decode and display the channels. The STB provides end-users access to (decodes) only those channels that the end-user subscribes.
Ordinarily, there may be a signal distribution unit situated at the cable TV service provider's location. The signal distribution unit is adapted to receive all channels from at least one satellite signal-receiving unit, and subsequently from at least one satellite. The subscribing end-user's STB is connected to the end-user's TV set. The end-user may be provided with a smart card for authentication and identification purposes.
Each end-user may subscribe to different channel packages, that is, the number of channels subscribed to by each end-user may vary. Cables connect the signal distribution unit at the service provider's location to each STB and TV set at each individual end-user location. The signal distribution unit transmits all of the received channels to all of the end-user locations at once.
The STB is adapted to permit access (viewing) to channels that the end-user has subscribed, while barring access (denying viewing) to channels that the end-user has not subscribed. The end-user may select a subscribed channel for viewing by remotely controlling the STB, causing the STB to decode and send a particular channel to the TV set for display and viewing.
Because all channels are being transmitted together to each end-user location, end-users may be able to illegally decode unsubscribed channels for viewing causing the service provider to lose revenue.
Additionally, as the number of channels being transmitted increases, the amount of bandwidth required for transmission increases. The vast majority of bandwidth, however, is wasted. End-users typically watch one or two channels at a time on a particular TV set. The result is that in many instances, as much as or more than 99% of the bandwidth (channels) being transmitted is wasted and not viewed. Further, there is a significant waste of power because of transmission of all the channels all the time.
Further, there is no definitive way to retrieve channel viewership information in current cable TV systems.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings appended hereto.